Mouthfeel: Quite smooth for an IPA, light- to medium-bodied with light carbonation.

Drinkability: Moderate ABV and easy to drink.

Overall, a solid and tasty beer. Nothing too extreme, but sometimes that's what is needed! I had this a few years ago and thought it was too piney, but they seem to have significantly improved it (or I got a bad batch before).

More User Reviews:

Clear amber with a small light khaki colored head that leaves the glass oily and with dots of stick down the glass.

Big, powerful aroma of citrus and pine hop components, along with sweet caramel and bread. There's a bit of alcohol warmth as well.

The flavor is similar to the aroma, with lots of hops and lots of malt character shining through. A fairly high level of bitterness, citrus and pine, with some sweet caramel and bread notes. There, too, is some alcohol presence in the flavor as well.

On-tap at Blue Palms Brewhouse. Had a taster of this a week ago and noticed an odd element - returning to a full pint this time to see if it is still there. Served in a wide mouth, short-stemmed tulip.

Tawny, dark-orange body with a bit of chill haze. Decent clarity when this clears. Small soapy head, receding to a whispy island with thin loops of lacing.

Floral aromatics - very distinctive, almost like cheddar (not diacetyl or any other off note) scent, presumably from the convergence of the malt bill and some of the late hop addition? Beyond this, you get lemoncello, honey, and a touch of pine.

Buttermilk along with rich caramel malt undergird the hop flavors: tangerine, pineapple, and earth. Thyme and cereal show up in the finish along with a light but lingering bitterness. Taste has some depth to it.

Had on tap at both SD Brewing Co and Callahan's Pub. Color is clear golden, maybe the smallest twinge of orange... maybe. Smell is fantastically citrus. The taste is pretty tropical while being a bit aggressive as well. Mango, light fruits... kinda Blind-Pig-like. Bitterness is fairly sharp, mouthfeel is on the lighter side.

This bad boys pours a golden caramel almost golden in tothe the glass. There is a little head but not a lot.

The smell is very floral with a hint of citrius. It's a very pleasant smell that I love in the ipa department.

The taste is like the smell. Very floral with some citrius. This is light on the carbonation and it doesn't over power thebeer. It finishes with more floral not too bitter. A very solidbeer by the local brewery.

Pale in color, bright like a golden circlet and clear as the waters of Ak'Thranalorn, crowned with a head of the purest white. The head is steadfast, strong like the blood of kings. The aroma is sweet, resiny and floral; pure as the Theodish beliefs of olde; intoxicating as the pine woods in winter. On the tongue, sweeter than the blood of my enemies, more bitter than the gallows dirge. Light in body, yet strong, powerful, like an enchanted tunic of mithril; indeed, strong enough to fell the mightiest of half-orcs. Hail, San Diego Brewing Co., hail, for miri is the day when this nectar doth touch my lips, and lightened are my spirits when its magic do weave its spell on mine mind.

On tap at SDBC. Great golden amber color with thin white ring of head, escapes with a swiftness. On the nose it is full of piney hops, citrus, malt, even some honey. Wow. This is a monster on the tongue. Lots of malt in the front with piney character, then subdues to a sweet malty aftertaste, cloying. A lot of carbonation makes this punch hard in front, if it were a tad tamer it might help bring up the MF score. Lacing is spotty. Overall, good shot, I would want it a little calmer in the mouth to really let the flavors shine.

S: Strong pine and grapefruit-citrus. With the honey-sweet malt backdrop, this smells like sugar-laced grapefruit.

T: The taste immediately matches the nose with strong notes of pine, citrus. But good lord is this bitter - an aggressively hopped brew, in the realm of famous SoCal DIPA's. If your palate has any stamina left, you might be able to detect the bready, toffee-like malts that balance this beacon of bitter. But my god, the hops!

D: Well, this is completely relative. Living in San Diego for awhile now, I've become accustomed and even spoiled with the plethora of big, super-hopped IPA's and DIPA's. Given that I've acquired a taste for such beverages, this goes down like soda for me. And to be objective, they did an incredible job balancing the hop bomb with malty sweetness. But someone new to this style might struggle with this a bit, at least until the alcohol kicks in.

This is one pungent bastard. The hops are extremely citrusy and piney. The aroma is a hop explosion. The malt backbone is pretty solid; it's caramel with some sugar. I have to come back to the hops because I can't take my nose out of the glass, they're awesome.

The taste is sweet up front for a split second but immediately biter after that. The level of bitterness is high throughout. The grapefruit flavor is explosive, with pine resin trailing close behind. The malt is sweet and caramel under the hop dominance. Alcohol is noticeable throughout.

The beer is medium bodied with good carbonation and a sticky mouthfeel. Somewhere between an East and West coast Double India Pale Ale, though leaning towards the West. I may be drunk, or this may just be awesome.

I had this ale at O'Briens Pub in San Diego and this Very Pleasurable Ale would please many that want big hoP flavors.

Smiles all around:Would enjoy having this ale more often. & (Seeking Often)Loving big hoP smells & taste ~ This ale hits the mark ~ full throttle ~ I especially like the after math on my tongue as it finishes Oh so fine. The pleasure of finding this on tap at your pub would be a joy for you who hoP and surely you won't soon forget.

Brewer "Dean Rouleau" of San Diego Brewing Co. sure pleases hoP heads with this entry on the ale ~ trail.

I got a growler of this as an EXTRA from FreightTrain. Huge appreciation to him for this, also for the other extras.

The growler was filled literally to the cap, luckily no leakage during delivery. A nice "pfft" sound when the cap was unscrewed, good carbonation.

The beer is clear, golden orange color, with a few fingers of white foam. A little wet lacing on the glass but not much. The aroma is real nice, classic west coast IPA. I smelled way more hops than malt, strong citrus, nearly brutal grapefruit. The taste is abrasively hopped, full of citrus flavors, extremely bitter aftertaste too. Addictively tasty, I'm gushing here. The body is about average, it goes down easily except for the pallette-wrecking flavors. Awesome.

Why do so many great IPA's from the west coast? For my part I consider this to be the definitive beer of the region, similar to Kolsch from Cologne, Rauchbier from Bamberg, lambics from Belgium, or simply kick-ass stouts from Michigan. San Diego Brewing has been added to my map.

Poured a nice golden orange color with very little head. Smelled very strongly of hops, citrus, juniper and flowers. Has a very potent kick of hops on the tongue, with definite notes of citrus and grapefruit. The hops linger on your tongue long after you swallow. The mouthfeel was somewhat sticky, almost like nectar. Very bitter pine-hop finish. It’s definitely a great beer for those who enjoy very hoppy beer, but maybe a little overwhelming for me.